The Light
by Konoha no Shinobi
Summary: They were always there. They were his 'Light at the end of his tunnel.' They were the light he did not deserve. They light he did not need nor want. So he resolved to make his tunnel longer, deeper and darker, so that even their brightly shone lights, would be impossible to see.


**The Light**

"Blah"= talking

**_'Blah'_**= thinking

_"Blah"_= from the past

**This is just a quick one-shot I thought of. This is also my first fanfic published! Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

Sasuke sheathed his sword and sighed. Behind him lay the many bodies of shinobi. Some dead, some unconscious, some breathing their lasts, and some hanging by a thread to stay alive.

"You've gotten faster, Sasuke-Kun." A voice commented.

Sasuke turned around to look at the owner of the voice.

"That was too easy. Don't you have any…powerful shinobi?"

"Easy? …Those were ANBU level shinobi…with a few S-Class level shinobi too, Sasuke-Kun." Orochimaru smirked.

"A few? Next time, make them _all _S-Class shinobi."

"Getting a little cocky there, aren't we? That may be the cause of your death one day."

"Hn... I'm done here." Sasuke turned to leave the battlefield.

Orochimaru watched the boy leave with a smile on his face, and licked his lips.

**_'Soon…soon your body will be mine, Sasuke-Kun.'_**

Sasuke entered his room inside the hideout and shut the door. He made his way to the bed, lay down and shut his eyes.

* * *

_"Where the hell is Kakashi-Sensei?" Sakura groaned.  
_

_"He probably got lost on his 'road of life'." Naruto grumbled._

_Sasuke smirked as he leaned against the tree on the highest branch folded his arms and closed his eyes._

_Sakura sighed dreamily as she stared at Sasuke._

_'Sasuke-Kun…you look so cool…'_

_Naruto looked at the Sakura with a scowl on his face. What was so good about the bastard anyways?_

_He leaped up branch by branch until where Sasuke stood, and shoved his face right in front of Sasuke's._

_Sasuke opened one eye and stared at Naruto._

_"What do you want, Dobe?"_

_Naruto's eye twitched. He slammed his forehead into Sasuke's. Sasuke hissed in pain and glared at Naruto with both of his eyes now. _

_"Get away from Sasuke-Kun, Naruto!" Sakura yelled from the ground._

_"What the hell is so good about you anyways?!" Naruto yelled in Sasuke's face._

_"How the hell am I supposed to know?!" Sasuke yelled back and slammed his forehead into Naruto's. But much harder than he had intended to. Naruto stumbled backwards as a small trickle of blood flowed from under his hitai-ate. Sasuke winced as his own forehead throbbed in pain._

_"OW! That hur-" Naruto was cut off as his foot slipped and he fell towards the ground._

_"Naruto!" Sakura screamed._

_Sasuke's eyes widened. **'shit!' **Before he even realized what he was doing, he jumpedfrom the tree and reached out towards Naruto. But his hand had just missed grabbing Naruto's leg. **'I'm not gonna make it!'**The voice inside his head screamed. He could hear Sakura screaming his and Naruto's names. The ground was approaching at an alarming rate. **'We're both not gonna make it!'** He closed his eyes and braced himself for the impact._

_But it never came. He opened his eyes and found himself held upside down by none other than Kakashi._

_"Kakashi-Sensei!" Sakura cried in relief._

_Sasuke looked at the other side of Kakashi and felt a brief rush of relief crash through him as he also saw Naruto dangling upside down, groaning._

_"Now…I hope you two weren't fighting…or were you?" Kakashi asked._

_"Hn." Was Sasuke's reply._

_"Argh! Let me down, Kakashi-Sensei!" Came Naruto's._

_ Kakashi sighed and placed them on the ground, upright._

_Naruto turned to look at Sasuke in surprise._

_"What're you doing down here, Teme?"_

_"…" Sasuke remained silent. _

_"Sasuke-Kun tried to save you, idiot!" Sakura yelled._

_Naruto's eyes widened._

_"Y-Y-You tried to save…ME?!" He sputtered._

_"I did not." Sasuke replied curtly._

_"But Sakura-Chan just sai-"_

_"I did NOT try to save you, Dobe."_

_"Then why're you down here?!"_

_"Because."_

_"Because what?!"_

_"Just because."_

_Naruto roared in frustration. "Forget it! But I know you tried to save me! Why else would you be down there?! Kakashi-Sensei also caught you upside down!"_

_"So?"_

_"SO?! What do you mean, SO?"_

_"That doesn't mean anything."_

_"Does too!"_

_"Does not."_

_As their argument continued on, with Naruto on the verge of ripping his hair out, and Sasuke completely calm, Kakashi and Sakura looked on in amusement._

_Naruto pointed one finger at Sasuke, "YOU, tried to save me. And I WILL prove that!"_

_Sasuke smirked. "Good luck with that, Dobe."_

* * *

_"Sasuke…When are you coming back?" Naruto asked, pain evident on his face._

_Sakura looked at Sasuke hopefully from behind Naruto. _

_"…Do you really want me to answer that, Naruto?" Sasuke asked._

* * *

_"Sasuke-Kun…please…stay…" Sakura sobbed. _

_"Please! Don't go!" _

_"SASUKE-KUN!"_

* * *

_"SASUKE! SNAP OUT OF IT!" _

_"I'LL DRAG YOU BACK HOME, EVEN IF I HAVE TO BREAK EVERY BONE IN YOUR BODY!" _

_"YOU DON'T BELONG THERE! YOU DON'T BELONG WITH OROCHIMARU! YOU BELONG WITH US! WITH KONOHA! WITH TEAM 7!" _

_"KONOHA IS YOUR HOME!"_

* * *

_"Sasuke…quit seeking revenge. You'll only hurt and suffer more. Even if you are successful in your revenge…all you'll be left with is emptiness."_

_"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW?! DON'T TALK TO ME LIKE YOU UNDERSTAND HOW I FEEL!" Sasuke yelled as he struggled against his restraints. _

_"Oi…calm down…" Kakashi pulled the strings tighter. _

_Sasuke settled down, and smirked at his teacher. "What…if I were to kill the one you loved the most?! Just how far would you stray from what you **just** said?! I can make you feel **true **pain!" _

_Kakashi stared quietly at Sasuke. "That would work…however…unfortunately for me, no such person exists."_

_Sasuke glared at him menacingly. **Liar.**_

_Kakashi smiled sadly at Sasuke through his mask. "Those people…have already been killed long ago." _

_Sasuke's eyes widened. _

_"I've also lived in a long, and hard era. I've seen my friends, comrades…loved ones…all die in front of my eyes. I understand just how terrible true pain and loss are." _

_"…" _

_"Well, we aren't the lucky ones…that's for sure. But we aren't the worst ones off…are we?" _

_Sasuke hung his head quietly. _

_"...Both you and I…have now found precious companions…have we not?" Kakashi asked. _

_Sasuke's face softened as Naruto and Sakura's face flashed through his mind._

* * *

_"We've become top-class ninjas, Sasuke. Both of us. So tell me…Did you see what was in my heart? How I really feel? Did you see what'll happen? If we fight again…We're both gonna die." Naruto completed, looking at Sasuke. _

_Sasuke stared back coldly. _

_"Our battle will be inevitable, If you really do attack the leaf. So keep your hatred, let it fester…and hit me with it full force. I'm the only one who can bear the full brunt of your hate! It's my job, no one else's! I'll bear the burden of your hatred…and we'll die together!" Naruto yelled from across the water._

_Sasuke grit his teeth. "Why…? What the hell is wrong with you?! Why do you care about me so much?!" _

_Naruto paused, closed his eyes, and reopened them a moment later, grinning. _

_"Because I'm your friend." He simply stated.  
_

**_'Maybe…just maybe…if we can understand one another…I can change all that hate that you have, Sasuke…just like Iruka-Sensei did for me.'_**

* * *

Sasuke's eyes shot open from his dream. It had been a while since he last dreamed about his old team. Team 7.

Naruto…Sakura…Kakashi…they were his light. His light at the end of his long, dark tunnel. Always in his sights. Smiling, holding out their hands, asking him to hurry back home, telling him that people were waiting for him. Once they said that, his old…friends from the village would appear behind them, also smiling, and telling him to come back.

They were always there. Waiting for him. They were there to guide him out of the dark. Ready to grab his hand when he reached out, ready to heed his call when he called for them.

He did not deserve the light. He did not deserve them. He had fallen too far into the shadows, for there to be any light at all. Therefore, it was impossible for him to have any light at all. But they were persistent. They were stubborn. Refusing to dim their light out for him. Even by a tiny bit. They would always remain at the end of his tunnel, shining brightly for him to find them. When he would come out of the shadows, they would be there, to greet him. To welcome him back. Welcome him back into the light, leaving the shadows behind him forever.

But as he had said, it was impossible, no it was that he _could not_ have light. From how much he had fallen, it simply wasn't allowed. So, he would make his tunnel longer, deeper, and darker. Long enough, deep enough and dark enough, so that even their bright lights, would be swallowed by the darkness. He would free them of their burden, and at the same time, free his chains that were still keeping a tight hold on him after all these years, so he could also walk freely through the dark.

After all, those who _chose _to walk into the darkness…almost never walked out on their own again.

_~Fin~_

**So...how was it? All reviews are very much appreciated! Thanks for reading!**


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